Earring clasp with wire guard

ABSTRACT

A jewelry piece, typically an earring or pendant, has an ornament such as a shaped gold body with an extending post connected at a first end thereof to the ornament and with an opposed second end that is configured to pass through a safety clasp, enabling it to be passed through a pierced ear lobe and held in place. A guard is affixed to the body of the safety clasp and is configured to limit the extent of travel of the second end of the post beyond the safety clasp. The guard has a general “C” or “U” shape, with a central enlarged portion located to meet the second end of the post.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to pin clutches or clasps, andparticularly to a safety clasp for use with post earrings, and the like.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

The jewelry art commonly employs a device usually referred to as a pinclasp and employed to retain tie tacks, hat pins, post earrings, and thelike, in proper position on a wearer or the wearer's clothing. U.S. Pat.Nos. 857,614, issued Jun. 25, 1907, to W. Gaskell, et al., and U.S. Pat.No. 1,081,888, issued Dec. 13, 1913, to B. V. Chapman, disclose hat pinclasps wherein spring biased catches selectively engage in a groove orgrooves provided on an associated shaft of the hat pin. In particular,the Chapman hat pin guard employs a plunger-like device acting againstthe bias of a coiled spring in order to normally engage an annulargroove provided near the pointed end of a hat pin. Further, U.S. Pat.Nos. 989,372, issued Apr. 11, 1911, to P. Lauermann, and U.S. Pat. No.1,328,954, issued Jan. 27, 1920, to J. S. Graham, disclose hat pinclutches which are simultaneously, like the device disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 1,081,888, point guards or protectors for the hat pins. U.S.Patent No. 989,372 uses a coiled spring to bias a clutch pin against theshank of the associated hat pin.

U.S. Pat. No. 1,319,340, issued Oct. 21, 1919, to A. Hurwitz, disclosesa scarf pin clutch having a clutch-eye rotatable in a slide mountingwhich is biased in one direction by a spring, and the clutch-eye havingan arm cooperating with a fulcrum so that longitudinal movement of theslide is accompanied by slight turning movement of the eye.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,278 describes a retaining mechanism for use with apierced earring having an ornament having a stem. The retainingmechanism has a base with an opening therein through which the stem ofthe earring passes, a cylindrical tube extending from the base withthreads on an external surface. An inner wall of the tube tapers fromits open end toward the base. A cap is provided that has a closed endwith an opening therein through which the stem of the earring passes.The cap has threads formed on an inner surface that mate with thethreads on the external surface of the cylindrical tube. A taperedmember extends from the closed end of the cap and is tapered along itsexterior wall. The external taper of the tapered member substantiallymatches the internal taper of the cylindrical tube. The tapered memberhas a slot formed in its wall. A compressible member is secured in thetapered member and has an opening therethrough that is aligned with theopenings in the base and the cap, and has a slot that is aligned withthe slot in the tapered member. The tapered member may have one or morecircumferential projections, with the tapered inner surface of thecylindrical tube having a mating groove, or vice-versa. The projectionand groove engage each other when the cap and base are screwed togetherso that they do not inadvertently disengage.

Another pierced earring clasp is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,557,220.In this patent, a security clasp for a jewelry post with acircumferential groove includes a housing with a post receiving apertureextending therethrough and two access ports through a side wall. A pairof interlocking C-shaped lock members each include an inner free endthat carries a lug anchor and an outer free end that serves as atrigger. The lug anchors are spring-biased by a spring toward oneanother to thereby urge the triggers outward through their respectiveaccess ports. The inner free ends are also urged toward one another bythe forces of the spring to slidably reside in the post receivingaperture of the housing into locking engagement with the circumferentialgroove of the jewelry post residing in the post receiving aperture. Thespring is serpentine in configuration and is routed from the lug anchorof one lock member to a first side of the inner wall of the housing toan opposite side of the inner wall of the housing back to the first sideof the housing and then into communication with the lug of the otherlock member. The serpentine configuration of the spring in communicationwith the inner wall of the housing enables the spring to be preciselycentered in the housing thereby providing a precision and smoothoperating security clutch for a jewelry post.

A basic disadvantage of the aforementioned earring pin clasps, however,is that they generally permit the (sometimes) pointed sharp free end ofthe pin/post to penetrate beyond the clasp, which can prick thefinger(s) of the wearer during donning of the earrings. Also, it allowspushing the post too far through the clap, losing engagement with thegroove in the post. Some clasps include a closed cap over the free sharpedge of the pin, but providing such a closed cap adds gold material andcost, makes it more difficult to hold the cap and limits the reductionin size that can be provided.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present invention preserves the advantages of prior art securityclasps/clutches for jewelry posts. In addition, the security clutch forjewelry posts provides new advantages not found in currently knowndevices and overcomes many disadvantages of such currently availabledevices.

The invention is generally directed to the novel and unique securityclasp for jewelry posts, such as grooved posts. The novel security claspfor a jewelry post includes a housing that defines a post receivingaperture that extends through the housing, with at least one lockingmember that is configured to snap into the groove in the earring post,to secure it against undesired disengagement from the housing duringnormal wear, allowing disengagement only upon the wearer pressing in thelocking member. Since the pointed, sharp free end of the post penetratesbeyond the housing, the invention also provides a generally “C” shapedwire, the free ends of which are attached (soldered to or cast with) theclasp housing. The center of the “C” shaped wire has a round or somewhatsquare shape, is positioned to face the sharp tip of the post. Thereby,when donning the earring, he wearer is able to place the clasp over thepost and press the post to clasp forcefully, without fear or concern ofbeing pricked by the post, or the post penetrating too deep for thelocking member to engage with the groove in the post.

In a preferred embodiment, the jewelry piece, typically an earring orpendant, has an ornament such as a shaped gold body, sometimes includingprecious stones, with an extending post connected at a first end thereofto the ornament and with an opposed second end that is configured topass through a safety clasp, enabling it to be passed through a piercedear lobe and held in place. A guard is affixed to the body of the safetyclasp and is configured to limit the extent of travel of the second endof the post beyond the safety clasp. The guard has a general “C” or “U”shape, with a central enlarged portion located to meet the second end ofthe post.

In further embodiments, the second end of the post has a needle end, theguard is cast with the body of the safety clasp and the guard has atleast one groove formed therein to receive a locking element of thesafety clasp. The safety clasp has at least one push-in buttonconfigured to release a holding force exerted by the safety clasp on thepost.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the instant invention to providea security clutch for jewelry posts.

Another object of the instant invention is to provide a security clutchfor jewelry posts that can be easily installed and removed.

Still further, an object of the instant invention is to provide asecurity clutch for jewelry posts that securely locks to a groovedjewelry post.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a securityclutch for jewelry posts that can be locked quickly by freely pressingthe earring into the clutch, without concern of being pricked orinserting the free end of the post too far beyond the clutch housing.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a security clutchfor jewelry posts that is simple and easy to manufacture and assemble.

Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a securityclutch for jewelry posts that has a positive lock.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a security clutchfor jewelry posts that can accommodate single and multiple groovedposts.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a securityclutch for jewelry posts that has a low profile.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following description in which the preferred embodiments havebeen set forth in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a prior art pierced earring with a safety clasp.

FIG. 2 depicts the safety clasp of FIG. 1 , in greater detail.

FIG. 3 depicts another prior art safety clasp.

FIG. 4 depicts the conventional pierced earring with a wire guardaccording to the invention.

FIG. 5 depicts the safety clasp wire guard of the invention from adifferent angle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

In the prior art FIGS. 1-3 , the earring 1 for a pierced ear has anornamental component 2 that is visible on the wearer's ear lobe, with anextending-away post or stem 3 shaped and sized to be inserted throughthe pierced ear lobe, which comprises two catch grooves 3 a and 3 c anda pointed, sharp end 3 b.

The safety clasp or clutch 5 has a disc shaped body with a central,through-going opening 8, for the passage of the post 3 therethrough. Thesafety clasp 5 has an internal catch (not shown) that is designed tosnap into the groove 3 c, assuring that the post 3 and the ornament 2attached to it, do not slip out of the clasp 5 and then lost by slidingout of the ear. To release the hold on post 3, the push-in buttons 6 arepressed in, which withdraws the catch, allowing removal of the post fromthe ear.

The differently shaped, prior art safety clasp 1 a of FIG. 2 is designedfor a post 3 a that is threaded, the clasp 1 a being threadedly securedto the post 3 a, to hold the earring 1 a to the wearer's ear lobe. Morespecifically, the safety clasp 1 a has a front decorative plate 5 a andan attached “C” shaped wire with a thickened portion 7 a with interiorlythreaded openings that are axially aligned defined in both components 1a and 7, enabling threading thereof onto the post 3 a, thereby providingthe needed holding and safety.

In accordance with the present invention and as in FIGS. 4 and 5 , theearring 10 comprises the ornament 2, post 3, and safety clasp 15 as inthe prior art, with the addition of the wire safety guard 17 which likethe component 7 (FIG. 3 ) has a thickened portion 17 a, here attached tothe safety clasp body 15 at its free ends. This attachment can beeffected by soldering or brazing or any other attachment expedient knownin the art. Or it can be cast together with the body of the clasp 15.

Most importantly, the thickened portion 17 a has no openingtherethrough, and even if there is a small opening it is of a diametertoo small to allow the tip 3 b of the post to pass through. The purposehere is to serve as a blocking component that limits the travel range ofthe post 3 through the clasp portion 15. Also, it provides improved,easier holding between the wearer's fingers while donning the earring.Further, it allows donning the earring by lightly pushing the post 3into the clasp 15 and then pressing between the thumb and a fingeracross the earlobe. The post movement stops exactly where needed for theinternal catch to snap into the groove 3 c.

The wire protector 17 can be affixed to many other styles of safetyclasps, including to the one depicted in FIG. 3 , to provide theconveniences and functions described above. While described above asbeing “C” (or “U”) shaped, the safety component can be constructed oftwo “C” components oriented at ninety degrees to each other, with acommon center blocking component 17 a.

Although the present invention has been described in relation toparticular embodiments thereof, many other variations and modificationsand other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art. It ispreferred, therefore, that the present invention be limited not by thespecific disclosure herein, but only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A jewelry, comprising: a jewelry ornamentcomprising ornamental surfaces or materials; an extending post connectedat a first end thereof to the jewelry ornament and having an opposedsecond end; a safety clasp comprising a body with a through-goingopening for the passage therethrough of the second end of the post; anda guard affixed to the body of the safety clasp and configured to limitthe extent of travel of the second end of the post beyond the safetyclasp.
 2. The jewelry of claim 1, wherein the guard has a general “C” or“U” shape.
 3. The jewelry of claim 2, wherein the “C” or “U” shapedguard has a central enlarged portion located to meet the second end ofthe post.
 4. The jewelry of claim 3, wherein the guard is made of wirestock.
 5. The jewelry of claim 1, wherein the second end of the post hasa needle end.
 6. The jewelry of claim 1, wherein the guard is cast withthe body of the safety clasp.
 7. The jewelry of claim 1, wherein thepost has at least one groove formed therein to receive a locking elementof the safety clasp.
 8. The jewelry of claim 7, wherein the safety clasphas at least one push-in button configured to release a holding forceexerted by the safety clasp on the post.